Senior English
(403) had never been a very interesting class, and this one was no
exception. A mindless drone known to the students as Mr. "Monotone"
Monson served as their instructor, droning out less-than-boring facts
that they would, in truth, never use in their lives again. Seated in
the rear right desk, Kaitin Lanning was doing his utmost best to stay
awake, and failing miserably.

"Why does
this guy even bother-no one listens or even cares!" he
complained in his head. With a muffled sigh, he let his black-haired
head drop into the comfort of his folded arms and slid his eyelids
shut.

Just as Kaitin
was beginning to retreat to the blissful embrace of sleep, Mr. Monson
was cut off as the handle to the classroom door jiggled, followed by
the rattle of the door opening. Rather than open his ice blue eyes,
Kaitin tilted his head so his right ear could catch the ensuing
conversation.

"Yes,"
sounded Mr. Monson's irritated voice, "what is it?"

For a moment
silence reined, then another monotone voice, this one smoother,
replied "Mr. Monson, Senior English 403?"

Back came Mr.
Monson's dry tone "Yes, and you must be the transfer student.
Well, find a seat and be quick with it!"

At the mention
of "transfer student", Kaitin's interest perked, and he lifted
his head to see this new addition. Knowing there was only one open
seat, it wasn't hard to locate the new classmate. Opening his eyes,
he looked to the seat in front of him, to the left. He was just in
time to see a short young woman, with shoulder length lavender hair,
settling into the desk seat. From what he could see, she had on a
simple outfit, with loose fitting blue jeans, a black t-shirt and a
blue hoodie. Fairly normal, really-in fact, the only unusual thing
about the girl was her pale skin, more a shade of grey than pink. He
couldn't see her face, but he imagined that she was nothing
special.

"Well,
better a girl than another jackass like Tad or Yuri." He
thought, as usual looking for something positive in the situation. As
if cued by his thought, he could hear skinny, red-headed Tad's
whisper to the large, blond Yuri, three seats ahead. "Looks like we
gotsa another freak here, don't it, Yuri?"

"Yah, she's
as pale as a ghost-and vhat's up with that thing on her
forehead-vhat a freeking veirdo!" Yuri not quiet whispered back to
Tad, clearly not the subtler of the two.

Tad's hasty
shushing of Yuri was overlapped by Mr. Monson's loud clearing of
his throat, coupled with a glare sent Yuri's way. After a pause,
out came the mindless drone again "As I was saying class, you
assignment tonight will be pages…" as the class slowly focused
their attention back on the teacher and away from their odd new
student.

All except for
Kaitin, who sat thinking to himself. "I wonder what that was
about-now I gotta see what's up with this girl." Totally
ignorant of the assignment being given, he sat wondering and stealing
glances now and then at the girl. "She had to hear them-why
didn't she say anything back?" The one sided conversation in
his head was cut off as the bell rang, sending the whole class into a
frenzy to pack their backpacks and get out of the torture session
that was Mr. Monson's class.

Grabbing the
only thing on his desk, his sketchbook, he crammed it into his pack,
zipped the pack up, and slung it onto his shoulder. Looking up as he
started forward, he caught a glimpse of the new girl as she walked
into the hallway.

"Maybe I
can catch her in the hall…" he mused as he worked his way
through the press of students. Forcing his way around a rather large
football player with a quick "S'cuse me", he popped out into
the hall. Stopping in the middle, he scanned one way, then the other,
but caught no sign of the young woman.

"Huh?-Where'd
she go?" he mulled to himself. With a confused look on his
face, he shook his head and headed off to his next class.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Walking slowly
down the hall towards his last class of the day, Kaitin was caught up
in his thoughts. His sudden interest in the new girl was being pushed
aside by his usual doubts and grief over the meandering course his
life was taking.

"Why am I
trying? What's left?" Caught up in this mental byplay, he was
rudely brought back to reality by a jarring collision with a large
body. Staggering backwards, Kaitin looked up into the face of Stefan,
a fellow schoolmate with a perpetually angry disposition. And the
mood he was in now was no exception.

"What the hell
is your problem Lanning? Can't you even walk down the hall without
screwing up!" Stefan bellowed as he grabbed Kaitin by the shoulders
and tossed him to the ground, out of his way. Cursing loudly, he
stomped off, but not before slamming his heavy boot into Kaitin's
ribs, eliciting a groan from the prone figure.

"Well that
was fun." Kaitin sardonically thought to himself as he rose off
the ground, rubbing his now aching ribcage. Standing up, he did his
best to shrug off the stares and mocking laughs of those around him.
"Someday I'll kick his butt-I think." came the vengeful
thought as he picked up his pack and started back down the hall.
Coming to the nearby corner, headed to the double doors that lead to
the science wing, his ears caught a sound he'd come to dread.
Rounding the corner he saw what he'd expected-Tad and Yuri with
someone backed against the wall, weathering a tide of insults and
caustic laughter from the two.

To his surprise,
it wasn't one of their usual victims. Rather, it was the darkly
unique new girl, with an apathetic look on her face, almost ignorant
of the mocking prattle coming her way. "I knew they'd be
after her soon enough, but this is fast, even for them." Kaitin
mused. Mustering his courage, or some suitable substitute, he paced
closer, listening to the verbal assault.

"Too good to
talk to us, eh? Think yer better than us, do ya?" Tad fired off, as
Yuri launched into an unimaginative swearing streak.

As he drew
closer, Kaitin finally got a look at the young woman's face,
helping him understand Tad's next insult.

"I betcha that
things just glued on plastic-She probably got it at the dolla store!"
Tad mocked, as Kaitin noticed the gem on the girl's forehead. It
was placed right below the peak of her bangs, which swept slightly
back then curved down to frame her oval face. Most striking to him
was her large, dark blue eyes, which, as they flicked towards him and
caught his glance, sent a jolt through him. That sealed it for him.

"I gotta
get these morons to bug off." he decided, not quite sure how to
do so. Glancing at the two offenders, he sighed under his breath and
started forward. He was only feet from Yuri when Tad noticed his
approach.

"What are you
doing here, Kait-l-in?" He sneered, using his group's
favorite name for Kaitin. Yuri, finally noticing Kaitin's presence,
rounded on him with a characteristic Yuri-ism "Vhadda ya want,
shapyukha?" with his native Russian tongue thrown in.

Thinking fast,
Kaitin decided to go with humor to lighten things up. "Y'know,
there are easier ways to pick up girls." He joked as those in the
gathering crowd snickered. The attempt was wasted on Tad and Yuri,
bringing only scowls in his direction.

"Yeh, your
REAL funny Kait-l-in. Why don't you just run off before I
decide to show you just how funny I think you are!" Tad threatened,
his face blotching red with anger.

Just then, the
new girl, who had been watching all this with a half curious, half
bored expression, spoke up. "Kait-whatever-your-name-is, just go. I
don't need your help wit-" She was saying when Tad turned,
pushing her against the wall.

"You shut up,
whore! We aren't done with you until we've had our fun!" he
cursed in her face.

That was it for
Kaitin, when his timidity cracked, and all his rage towards the
dimwitted duo burst forth in the form of violence. Exhibiting a speed
that amazed all present, Kaitin jumped forward and kneed Yuri right
in the crotch. With a moan, the big Russian dropped to the ground,
his hands shooting to his injured self.

Tad, hearing the
moan, let go of the girl, turning to see Kaitin standing over Yuri,
kicking him repeatedly in the chest and ribs. Pure hate covered the
usually quiet and reserved young man's face. Shock on his face, Tad
stood there for a moment, then rushed over to Kaitin, taking him to
the floor with a stunning tackle. After all, Tad was the school's
second best defensive end. But that didn't mean much to Kaitin.
Taking the initiative, Kaitin rolled on top of Tad and began flailing
his fists into the redhead's face. By now, the crowd was yelling
and screaming, which inevitably drew the hall monitor.

Suddenly, as
rough hands grabbed his shoulders and threw him off of Tad, Kaitin
slipped back into his usual self. With a dazed expression, he looked
around at the messy scene. Yuri was rolling around on the ground,
moaning, as he alternately clutched his chest and crotch. Tad,
however, was much worse for the wear. As the hall monitor helped him
to stand, Kaitin could see the damage for himself. Tad's face was
swollen, turning black and blue. His nose was undoubtedly broken,
blood rapidly dripping down his lips, his chin and onto his clothes.
He was crying, hands cradling his battered face.

The worst thing
he saw was the new girl. She was still by the wall, and was looking
right at him. Instead of the thankful expression he expected, her
face was stony, only her eyes giving away her anger at him. As the
crowd dispersed, she began walking away from the scene. Hopping to
his feet, Kaitin ran over and grabbed her arm.

"Don't I at
least get a thank you!" he queried, confusion rampant on his face.
Whirling to face him, the new girl leaned in closer to him and, anger
slipping through her monotone voice, gave him his answer.

With that, she
spun around and strode off, leaving Kaitin, again, alone with his
thoughts.

"What the
hell is her problem! All I wanted was some kinda thanks!" With
nothing to focus on, he finally noticed the liquid dripping off his
hands. Looking down at them, he was horrified to see blood, Tad's
blood, staining his knuckles. Rushing for the restroom, to clean the
evidence of his angry outburst, one thought repeated itself inside
him.